THEACHER’S CHARISMA: NATURE OR NURTURE?

Abstract

Charisma is an inherent exceptional human authority, which consists of the ability to subdue others to one's will. Throughout the history of human civilization, charismatic individuals have played a significant role in all spheres of human activity ‒ politics, education, science, production, art, philosophy, religion, and so on. The article analyzes the current state of research on teacher's charisma. This phenomenon has long been known in education, but recently it has attracted more and more attention because it significantly increases learning performance. But research on teacher’s charisma is still rare, as its presence and variations are difficult to identify and operate on. The most important feature of a charismatic teacher is that in his professional activity, first of all, he tries to form and develop dynamic positive relationships with all his pupils, regardless of their abilities, gender, or social origin. Such a teacher becomes a role model, authority, and source of inspiration. Students of higher education institutions perceive the teacher's charisma somewhat differently. For them, the key features of an ideal teacher are professional competence and positive character traits. Not only does a competent teacher know his subject well, but he is also able to present it to students so that they understand the most difficult issues. Students consider friendliness, accessibility, patience, enthusiasm, self-discipline, and decency to be positive traits of an ideal teacher. Genetic studies of the teacher's charisma are completely absent. Although usual life experience shows that charisma is hereditary, its heritability remains unknown, which makes it impossible to determine how much charisma development depends on learning and upbringing. There are still no studies aimed at identifying genetic factors, not only charisma altogether but also the teacher's charisma in particular. The exacerbation of the problem of the education quality in today's rapidly changing world makes genetic research of pedagogical charisma very relevant.